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A unique recipe for Meatball Pot Roast is what you need to try this week. It has amazing gravy, tender meatballs, and plenty of vegetables.
We love using cheaper cuts of meat. You’ll also love my Cube Steak Recipe and My Poor Man’s Steak Diane.
Featured Comment
I love the rich and savory flavors of this dish! It serves up such a perfect, quick-prep Sunday dinner for the whole family… fuss free with a whole meal in one pot! Plus, the leftovers are amazing!!
- Heidi
We love this frozen meatball pot roast. You may wonder why anyone would want meatballs instead of pot roast. Trust me, this recipe is one of the best meals I've had out of the crockpot. Here is why I want you to try it.
- This recipe uses budget-friendly meatballs instead of expensive chuck roast; they cook up super tender and soak up all the flavors.
- Tastes just like a pot roast dinner everyone loves, with a beefy gravy that pairs well with everything in the pot.
- Great for serving a crowd or a big family.
- Or makes plenty for leftovers - heats up great for lunches.
Key Ingredients
Meatballs: Find these in the freezer section of the store. One bag is all you need. I use homestyle, but you can use Italian style.
Gravy: All you'll need is an au jus packet, onion soup mix and water. Just those three ingredients make a beefy sauce for the meatball pot roast.
Vegetables: Baby Carrots, potatoes, and celery.
How to Make Meatball Pot Roast
- Layer the potatoes, carrots, and celery into the slow cooker.
- Add the frozen meatballs, soup mixes, and broth.
- Cook until the vegetables are tender and the savory gravy has developed.
How to Serve Meatball Pot Roast
This is one of those magic one-pot meals that you can come home to and just spoon into bowls. If you want, add buttered sandwich bread or dinner rolls! The gravy is so good with the buttered bread.
Tips & Variations
Layer in flavor: Add a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, or A-1 steak sauce to jazz up this frozen meatball dinner.
More Veggies: Mushrooms, green beans, or diced white onion are good additions to this pot roast dinner.
Make it Rich: Add a 1/2 cup of sour cream; this will make the gravy taste similar to beef stroganoff.
Can Homemade Meatballs be Used?
If you have a homemade meatball recipe you like, you can use it with this recipe. The cooking time will remain the same, for the vegetables will take just as long as the meatballs.
Should I Thaw the Meatballs?
You do not need to thaw the frozen meatballs for this recipe. They thaw pretty quickly in the crockpot and are perfectly safe to cook from frozen.
More Slow Cooker Beef Recipes to Make
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff and Slow Cooker Beef Stew are hearty comfort food dinners perfect for cold nights and busy weekdays. My newest recipe, Marry Me Pot Roast, is great for Sunday dinner.
From classic Slow Cooker Pot Roast to homestyle Slow Cooker Meatloaf, these beef recipes are easy family dinners that always satisfy.
Crockpot Honey Garlic Steak Bites and Poor Man’s Steak Diane are packed with rich savory flavor and taste great served over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.
If you tried this Meatball Pot Roast recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Happy Slow Cooking!
How to Video
Ingredients
- 26 oz. bag frozen meatballs, (a 32-oz. bag works fine too)
- 1.5 cups baby carrots
- 3 ribs celery, sliced
- 1.5 lbs. baby potatoes
- 1 oz. packet au jus mix, Knorr or McCormick are great choices
- 1 oz. packet Lipton onion soup mix
- 2 cups water, or beef broth
- Fresh parsley (optional) , for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by adding your baby potatoes, carrots, and celery to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add the frozen meatballs.
- Add the au jus mix, onion soup mix, and water. Stir gently
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5–7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours, until the vegetables are fork-tender and the meatballs are hot throughout.
- Give everything a gentle stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.
Sarah's Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Do you think I could put it together and freeze it and then toss it in the crock pot a different time?
Potatoes will change texture too much (carrots too!). It’s a bummer.
Do u think I could make my own meatballs…and it would still work? I don’t care for frozen ones
Yes, that would work great.
I’m over the top on what I want to write about this wonderful recipe! Am in my eighties and wouldn’t have looked at this recipe until it came up in my Facebook feed by chance. It struck a chord and I made it. OMG – I will be eating for more than a couple meals – and sharing with a couple of senior neighbors. I did add mushrooms and peas. Made a tad more Au Jus – but, Lady, you got the entire meal Right! And Bless you!
I can’t agree more Linda. When I first made this I was skeptical, but I think this is the best way to make meatballs – they taste so beefy and have a great texture in this.
We are in a motel and I made this recipe for dinner. OMG this was so full of flavor and delicious. I will definitely pass this recipe on to others. This will be a great meal for us for years to come. I appreciate you having this app as we are only allowed a Crockpot in our room so this app is perfect for us to get great ideas on how to use the crockpot to it’s full potential.
Great! I love easy meals like this that actually hit the spot!
this looks good. i have ingredients onhand. thank you. meatballs
Is there any way to get around using the onion soup mix, and possibly the au jus mix, as my husband is on a low-sodium diet, and I know the onion soup mix has lots of sodium?? I think the au jus mix may, as well.
Can you use a dried onion? And for the au jus, you could use beef broth. You will have to add quite a bit of seasonings.
so easy and absolutely delicious!
Fantastic – After we made this we realized we should have doubled it. So delicious. The flavors really came together to be a comfort meal.
I used homemade onion soup mix and brown gravy packet. My carrots were frozen presliced organic carrots. went with the beef stock. The guys loved it! Thanks for a super recipe.
Yay! So glad you tried it and enjoyed it.
Sodium content is an. Issue for many of us. Are there any lower sodium alternatives you recommend?
I made this last week and could not believe how good it was. My friends could not believe there was such a thing! I did not have au-jus sauce and used a pack of brown gravy mis and veggie broth rather than water. Outstanding!!
So glad you tried it – I really couldn’t believe how good it was. I’m working on more meatball recipes like this one.